By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
CANCUN, Mexico – Nicki Collen believes Queen Egbo can be the best defensive player in the country. Saturday, the 6-3 senior center proved the first-year Baylor coach right.
Egbo had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and helped the sixth-ranked Bears (6-1) hold Houston scoreless in a 10-minute stretch in the second and third quarters as Baylor finished off a 3-0 run at the Cancun Challenge with a 74-58 win over the Cougars.
"I feel like Queen had her best defensive game in a Baylor jersey since I've been here," Collen said. "I just thought she was super-impactful in her ball-screen defense and protecting the rim. She just really rim-protected."
Trailing for all but five minutes of the first half, the Bears closed on a 10-0 run to go up 34-27 at the break. An Egbo layup, followed by a pair of Sarah Andrews free throws gave Baylor its first lead of the game, and then Andrews capped it off with a 3-pointer on a dish from Caitlin Bickle with 34 seconds left.
Senior All-American forward NaLyssa Smith was 0-for-7 from the field and scored just three points in the first two quarters, part of why Houston (3-4) opened up a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes.
"Obviously, we play through NaLyssa lot," Collen said. "And when she struggled, that kind of hurt us. I thought Caitlin gave us a big lift, really on both ends and kind of pushed us in front. And then, when Lys got going, Lys got going. In the third quarter and part of the fourth, you saw he look like the best player in the country."
Egbo scored two quick buckets to start the third quarter, but Smith scored the last five points in the extended 19-0 run and ended up with 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for her sixth-straight double-double
Baylor stretched the lead to 43-27 before Tiara Young made a 3-pointer to end the 10-minute scoring drought with 4:22 left in the third quarter. Outscoring the Cougars, 37-15, in the second and third quarters, the Bears were up 51-32 going into the fourth.
"I thought we were a little flat coming out. Some of that, you have to credit to Houston," Collen said. "I thought (Laila) Blair for them played really loose and comfortable. Once we dialed in and really guarded them, we asserted our dominance, quite frankly, on both ends of the floor."
Midway through the fourth quarter, Collen dialed up a play that got Smith open for a 3-pointer that matched Baylor's biggest lead of the game, 67-45.
"When you have an opportunity to draw those things up for her, it gives her confidence that I'm drawing it up for her to give her that opportunity," Collen said of Smith, who had missed five of her first six 3-point attempts. "That's so much of shooting. So much of shooting is running actions to get someone that shot, and them sticking it."
Ja'Mee Asberry hit two 3-pointers and chipped in with 12 points for the Bears, while Andrews had seven points, nine assists and only one turnover. Bickle chipped in with nine points and six boards off the bench.
Blair led the Cougars with a career-high 28 points, hitting 6-of-10 from outside the arc. Trailing 51-32 after three quarters, Houston put up 26 points in the fourth as Bria Patterson contributed 10 points and four rebounds.
Baylor returns home to host Morehead State (1-4) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Missouri (6-0) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at 7 p.m. next Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Ferrell Center.
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November 28, 2021 at 03:48AM
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No. 6 WBB Defeats Houston to Close Out Cancun Challenge - Baylor University Athletics - BaylorBears.com
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